new puppy in the house 2 days is sick

dejasvueOctober 14, 2006

Two days ago I got a 9 week old Beagle puppy from a reputable breeder. Before bringing him over he told me that he had been feeding a puppy chow from Costco and for me to get either Eukaneuba or Iams puppy chow and I got the Iams. That is all I have fed him for the past two days. This morning, his first poop was normal but after we came in from our walk, he was wimpering, wanting to be held more than usual, wanting his tummy rubbed and not wanting to finish his breakfast. A little while later, I noticed a pile of much softer poop in a spot he never soils in and shortly after that I saw a smaller pile of soft poop in the bathroom. He was just out of sorts and nothing I did made him comfortable. I am wondering if he might be allergic to the Iams. That not withstanding, I am wondering what to do now to make him more comfortable. Should I make him a bowl of plain white rice? White rice with broth? Pepto Bismol? Cottage cheese? We have a vet appointment for Monday afternoon but in the meantime, what do I do? I am hoping the vet can prescribe a better/digfferent brand of dog food. I do have a small package of puppy food my pet store carries (a non-commercial brand and 100% pure ingredients).Should I assume he is allergic to the Iams and that it doesn't agree with him? Should I slowly inroduce this non-commercial food into his diet now? He is playful when I play with him but when I stop playing and attempt to get something done around the house, he begins wimpering for attention again. Any suggestioins/thoughts as to what could be going on?

I'm wondering too. All this going on in just 2 days? All the talk about "more than normal"? How do you know what is normal for him? A pile of softer poop in an area he never poops in? You've had him 2 days? How much has he pooped in that time? Have you contacted the "reputable" breeder? And after (we came in from our walk he did this that and the other, more than normal?) Are you sure you don't mean you've had this pup 2 months, or even 2 weeks rather than 2 days? I'm glad you have an appointment with a vet and I hope he stays playful enough to keep you from housework.:-)
I love the excuse "Sorry the house is a mess, I've been playing with the animals."

I agree with the previous reply. After two days, only, how do you know what is normal? If you've had him for that short time, how can you know he wants to be held etc. more than normal? Could he be missing his siblings & familiar routine? I'm no expert, but I do know there is an adjustment period. I honestly think it's too soon to know what is normal. A change in diet can be a problem, but I don't think you've had this guy long enough to know what spots he soils in normally. I would watch him like a hawk, keep him on a leash at all times, assume he is not potty trained yet. This is all new to him.

Okay, your dog is playful, that is good. If it is drinking and eating that is good too. I think you are a bit too worried, puppies have more delicate tummies, and just making a change to a different food WILL have upset tumy consequences. Keep an eye on your pups bowel movements like you have been and DONT do too much changing of food, if you do, introduce the new stuff over a period of a week - that way you and your pup wont experince the nastiness of indigestion. Good luck with your puppy and keep us posted.

I think changing from Costco to Iams without mixing it gradually is your problem. Best to see the vet because of the puppys age tho, there are serious complications that can come of diarreha. The vet may say to feed chicken and rice. I dont have time to do all that so I buy a food from the vet called low residue and keep a bag on hand for this very purpose. Also comes in wet version. It is the same as feeding chicken and rice. Then you would gradually add in the food you are going to feed the puppy. The only thing that is bothering me is what reputable breeder would feed its puppies Costco food? Horrible. I adopted a stray cat once that wandered into our compost pile and kept coming back daily. My dad bought like Acme food or something. That cat had the worst gas:-( When we took him to the vet for exam and shots prior to introducing him into our house with the other kitties I asked the vet bout the gas thing. He asked what we were feeding and he said that kind of food is the worst possible thing to feed any pet. If you can I would feed him something where the protein is the first ingredient on the bag. Iams, the first ingredient is something like corn - look at the ingredient list on the bag. This would be your best opportunity to start off feeding your puppy the best possible food you can afford. It is really worth it. Good luck with your new puppy and what's his name??

Ideally you should have got some of his old food from the breeder to mix with his new food, gradually changing over to the new stuff. Anything you change at this point is probably going to make matters worse. Best to just keep going with the new food and let his system adjust. Just keep a close eye on him.

Although it is likely that the rapid change of diet coupled with the stress of being separated from his litter and familiar environment are responsible for his loose stools, you also need to be aware of the possibility of parvo. As long as he's eating and playing, it's probably just temporary digestive upset. If he stops eating and/or drinking, becomes lethargic, runs a fever, or the diarrhea gets worse, however, you need to get him to a vet IMMEDIATELY. Parvo kills puppies very quickly.

Besides the food change, A nine week old pup, probably has worms. Can cause gas and discomfort, diarrheah. Did you take the pup to a vet since you got him home? You should always take a new pup straight to the vet to have him checked over thoroughly, so you can let the breeder know of any potential problems - before you get attached to the guy.

Pups from a breeder usually have their first series of shots and have been dewormed. But frequently pups need two or three worm treatments a few months apart. And sometimes pups can get a cocydia(sp) or some other intestinal thing that is immune to the worm treatment that they were given.

I had to slowly switch our two puppies from the Wal-Mart brand (Ole' Roy) to the Nutro that I wanted them on. I added a little more each time and when I started to see softer stools, I dropped back a little. Took me about a week to get them off it and onto Nutro completely. Also watch treats as well - they can cause a change in stool, too. Nutro makes a puppy food that is for sensitive stomachs, has oatmeal in it. I now mix that with their other "flavors".

I just talked to a Nutro representive Saturday at the pet store. I had used Nutro for our previous dog for 14 years so I was already happy with it. She said that the puppy absorbs 85% of the foods nutrition.(I think that is how she put it.) They have less stool, less smelly stool, both of which I can verify as being true. They also need less volume because of the nutrition value and that also seems to be the case.

I am sure there are other brands that are just as good but just wanted to pass on what I have found to be true.

Hope your puppy is feeling better. We also went through tapeworms in one of the pups. We did take it to the vet and he gave them both a pill. The problem cleared up within a day or two without any messy diaherra.

You might want to buy a digital rectal therometer to keep just for the puppy. A pup's temp should be between 101.5 -102.5 degrees. Lower is okay but not above.

1) He was feeding the pup Costco brand food?
2) He didn't give you any of the food to mix in with your new food to gradually introduce the pup to new food? This can prevent stomach upset.
3) He recommended Iams?

Costco sells Kirkland super premium puppy food and that is what I chose for my Cavachon, Wesley. I spent nearly a week before we even got him reading labels and checking ingredients. I read the listing of the rating (point system to add or subtract) of many dry foods and this was way at the top. I believe it rated in at least at 104 or 114.

Just what is the problem with the super premium dry puppy kibble? The ingredients are wonderful (no corn) so I am thinking that you have this mixed up with another company.

My two cats eat their super premium dry cat food and have beautiful coats. I am very happy with the ingredients and it rivals many of the very high-end brands. I could pay less and get "filler" foods but what it the overall good of that?

My pup is very excited when he knows I am feeding him. He eats three times a day and his "output" is far less than any of my previous dogs gave when I used kibble bought at the grocery store.

Apparently chicken (not chicken meal) and brown rice, millet and more are something he likes the taste of. There are other ingredients and I am happy to say that I was impressed with the Kirkland brand dry foods I am feeding my pets. It is worth it to feed a really good quality food.

Perhaps you can share what ingredients are a problem and why you consider this food horrible and the worst.

Now, since labels must list food by volume, that looks like Lamb and lamb meal are the top two ingredients in volume, which is good. Except the next three are rice. Taken together, those three rice products probably outweigh the lamb and lamb meal in the diet -- by breaking them down into different ingredients, they can list them separately and move the meat sources up higher. It's a common trick, though one usually done with corn in the cheaper foods.

Actually, I did expect it to be worse but it isn't so bad for a Costco type food.

One thing you have to consider with food also and which some manufacturers are reluctant to let you know is what quality are the ingredients they are using in their product. Meats can be any of three or four( don't remember which for sure) quality levels, anything from what is commonly called 3-d, dead, dieased, dying, to human grade.Legally on the bag tho it can still say chicken, lamb, beef, whatever it is. Same with grains, it can be the whole grain or something that has already been processed and parts used for other products but technically it's still corn, rice etc. You can pretty much bet the less expensive the retail cost of the food the less expensive, and poorer quality, the ingredients in it are.

It's true that this isn't listed a human grade food but most folks simply cannot afford to pay huge prices for that kibble option.

Before the onset of commerical kibble dogs and cats have been a part of families. They used to feed table scraps. Perhaps that wasn't so bad in the day when nothing was processed food and everything was grown fresh.

I am pleased with the ingredients of this food. The dry kibble that my cats eat also has excellent ingredients. I wonder if I could find out who makes the dry food for Kirkland.

As others have suggested, it may well be a sudden change in food. I remember when I brought a 1 -year old kitty home a few years ago. She had the "runs" for several days as she adjusted to a new diet and, I'm sure, the stress of a new home. (Heck, the same thing would happen to me! :)

I've got a new puppy here and the breeder sent us home with
a bag of the same food she had been feeding which is
Eukanuba puppy kibble. She told us if we were going to
make a change to please start by mixing it with the other
gradually.

To tell the truth, I haven't even thought of changing the
food although the vet gave me a bag of Science Diet or
something like that, it's whatever they recommend for
their puppies. I just said thank you and put it in the
garage on the shelf when I came home.
I don't want to change any more things than I have to for
the new baby, leaving her mom and siblings and riding
for 5 hours to a new home and a new environment is
traumatic enough.

I am glad you're all here on this forum because I'm going
to need a lot of advice about bringing up baby.